I have a hard time with goggles. They sometimes leak and then I have to tighten them. Then they're painful around the sockets after a while. I believe my head is smaller than most (literally, not figuratively) and this may be the problem. Anyone experienced this and found a kind of goggles that better or any other solution?

Making them tighter isn't the solution. The straps are just there to hold them against your face, not help them seal.

The solution is finding goggles that fit, or possibly adjusting the nose piece to the right width for your face.

Try different pairs in the store by pressing them against your face. If they stick for a few seconds, you probably have a pair that will work ok for you. Don't pay any attention to the price. Sometimes a cheap pair will match your face best, and sometimes an expensive pair will.

Once you find a pair that works well for you, go back and buy one or two more pairs so you have extra.

+1 on Aqua Spheres. I have a set of kayennes that I use for racing for exactly the fact that they do not rest in my eye sockets. I wear Speedo Vanquishers in the pool and exactly once for a race. After a kick in the face during the opening scrum of the OWS I vowed to find a more appropriate set of goggles for OWS racing.

Don't buy goggles without trying them on first (so no blister packs from Costco...unless you know that they fit). Without using the straps, gently press the goggles to your face. They should stay in place with suction. Then pull them off using the nose bridge. You should feel a slight pop as the pressure get released. Those goggles will fit. Finally, adjust the strap to hold the goggles in place. If the strap is too tight, it will cause more leaking, not less, as the goggles will pull away from part of your melon as they stretch.

As has already been suggested, try open-water goggles that fit outside your eye sockets. But still do a fit test. And don't look at price. A friend of mine can buy the aforementioned Costco three pack, and swim all day. For me, they are the double whammy of leaky and uncomfortable.

I had this problem too - and it took me a LONG time (3 years now?) to find goggles that work for me.

Definitely go to a place where you can open up the packages and try them on against your face - this should hopefully help you rule some out and give you a better idea of what to spend your money on to find ones that will work for you.

For ME - the AquaSpheres didn't work, though I think it's fantastic that they have different sizes to try and get a good fit. I don't know what it was, but something about the shape of the goggles didn't work on my face and the left goggle of all 4 pairs I tried would leak.

On a whim I got the TYR Nest goggles and from the first try, they've been golden. No leaks, no weird suction cup thing onto my eyeball, they just fit.

Short version of all of the above - keep trying different manufacturers and styles until you find the best fit for you.

I have narrow temples and eye sockets. It makes it near impossible to get a seal...even with masks. Unless I dig goggles into my eye socket and rachet down the strap, they won't seal...And when I do that, I can't swim for more than 5 minutes. There just isn't the real-estate between my sockets and my temple to allow a gasket to seal.

I figured that I just had a completely malformed face. I was considering chaining myself up in a basement and eating Babyruth candy bars all day.

This is the way I have resolved the issue:

Put the goggles on your face so the band goes behind your ears like sunglasses. You know...the way a normal person puts on goggles.
Hold the goggles in place over your eyes and apply gently pressure with one hand (to create suction with the next step). With the other hand, drag the strap up the back of your head up near your crown.

It will feel feel a little funny. The strap is up near the crown of your head, your eyebrows are being pushed up a little, and your cheeks are pulled up a little. But you will feel the "suction" that everybody talks about.

What you have done is shifted the goggle gaskets SLIGHTY above your temple. Plus, the upward dragging pressure on the goggles will pull the extra skin up around your temples and create a good seal.

It will feel feel a little funny...But I can swim as long as I need to and never worry about a leak.

When I do this I never get a leak, no matter what goggles I am wearing. Without doing this I get a leak every time, every goggle.

Originally posted by lifejustice If the other solutions help you, then awesome. If not; read on. I have narrow temples and eye sockets. It makes it near impossible to get a seal...even with masks. Unless I dig goggles into my eye socket and rachet down the strap, they won't seal...And when I do that, I can't swim for more than 5 minutes. There just isn't the real-estate between my sockets and my temple to allow a gasket to seal. I figured that I just had a completely malformed face. I was considering chaining myself up in a basement and eating Babyruth candy bars all day. This is the way I have resolved the issue: Put the goggles on your face so the band goes behind your ears like sunglasses. You know...the way a normal person puts on goggles. Hold the goggles in place over your eyes and apply gently pressure with one hand (to create suction with the next step). With the other hand, drag the strap up the back of your head up near your crown. It will feel feel a little funny. The strap is up near the crown of your head, your eyebrows are being pushed up a little, and your cheeks are pulled up a little. But you will feel the "suction" that everybody talks about. What you have done is shifted the goggle gaskets SLIGHTY above your temple. Plus, the upward dragging pressure on the goggles will pull the extra skin up around your temples and create a good seal. It will feel feel a little funny...But I can swim as long as I need to and never worry about a leak. When I do this I never get a leak, no matter what goggles I am wearing. Without doing this I get a leak every time, every goggle.

FWIW, there's nothing funny or weird about that. The strap should be up at the crown of your head as you describe.

I got lucky and found a pair that works early on. Surprisingly these are about the cheapest out there. TYR raceteck. I've tried others but always come back to theses. I even tried the Aqua Spheres Kayennes because I heard they were good but no luck. Couldn't get them to stop leaking.

They are a little flimsy so that is why I tried others like the kayennes. But they have survived countless Sprints, HIM's and 2 full IM's so they must be OK.

If you really have a small face, the youth versions of goggles may be appropriate.

For a lot of people though, the nosepiece is often set too wide and they are trying to get the goggles to seal over their temples rather than their eye sockets. You'll generally have a lot of leaks (move your jaw, and if the goggle seal is over the part of your face that moves when you open and close your mouth, it'll not usually seal well and you'll have tight straps and painful suction to have any success). Use a narrower nosepiece, and the outer corner of the goggle should seal against your eye socket with almost no suction and no strap pressure. You can experiment with "race" versus "fitness" goggles to find some with different shapes and should be able to find one that works for your face.